For your next side project, make a browser extension • Hacker News Board

Re: For your next side project, make a browser extension

#51

Post by cdrini » Sun, Jan 15, 2023, 9:53 PM UTC

alphabet9000 wrote: post #33

satvikpendem wrote: post #26

PSA: If you're making a browser extension, please support Firefox as well, not just Chrome. Firefox makes it easy since they support the `chrome` namespace for functions [0]. You can also use React/Next.js or another frontend library too if you prefer. I had created an extension a while ago out of pure HTML, CSS, and TypeScript but I found that was quite annoying to add more complex features with lots of state. I swi…

firefox/mozilla doesn't really make it easy (compared to chrome) mozilla now requires "add-on signing" [0]; extensions now have to be "signed" (By mozilla) before you can permanently side-load your own private extension onto regular firefox. they also require you to use 2FA [1] when setting up a firefox.com account (which is required in order for you to upload extensions so they can be signed). at least with chrome y…

Huh? To the best of my knowledge, to get a development extension working in FF:

1. Ctrl-shift-a to open add-ons page

2. Click the cog, and select "debug add-ons"

3. Click "load temporary add-on"

4. Select a file in your extension.

5. Done.

This worked for me earlier this week.

Re: For your next side project, make a browser extension

#52

Post by stuaxo » Sun, Jan 15, 2023, 9:57 PM UTC

This looks great, though extensions being sold has a history of going badly for the users, is it safe to install this now it's owned by Tweethuntet who seem big on "monetisation" ?

Re: For your next side project, make a browser extension

#53

Post by tzs » Sun, Jan 15, 2023, 9:57 PM UTC

I very briefly looked into extensions for some things I wanted to do, but got kind of lost in the documentation. The browsers seem to expose a very large API and I failed to figure out if it supports what I wanted.

Essentially what I wanted was to be able to implement a simplified version of the "wget" command. I wanted to be able to invoke the extension on a page and have it save the current page contents to a file, then navigate to each link on the page that doesn't go offsite and save those pages, and so on to a specified depth.

(Why not just use wget itself from my terminal? Because the pages I was interested in have JavaScript that modifies the DOM, and it is that modified DOM I want).

Re: For your next side project, make a browser extension

#54

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jan 15, 2023, 9:59 PM UTC

cdrini wrote: post #51

alphabet9000 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

firefox/mozilla doesn't really make it easy (compared to chrome) mozilla now requires "add-on signing" [0]; extensions now have to be "signed" (By mozilla) before you can permanently side-load your own private extension onto regular firefox. they also require you to use 2FA [1] when setting up a firefox.com account (which is required in order for you to upload extensions so they can be signed). at least with chrome y…

Huh? To the best of my knowledge, to get a development extension working in FF: 1. Ctrl-shift-a to open add-ons page 2. Click the cog, and select "debug add-ons" 3. Click "load temporary add-on" 4. Select a file in your extension. 5. Done. This worked for me earlier this week.

[deleted]

Re: For your next side project, make a browser extension

#55

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jan 15, 2023, 10:01 PM UTC

satvikpendem wrote: post #26

PSA: If you're making a browser extension, please support Firefox as well, not just Chrome. Firefox makes it easy since they support the `chrome` namespace for functions [0]. You can also use React/Next.js or another frontend library too if you prefer. I had created an extension a while ago out of pure HTML, CSS, and TypeScript but I found that was quite annoying to add more complex features with lots of state. I swi…

[deleted]

Re: For your next side project, make a browser extension

#56

Post by tech234a » Sun, Jan 15, 2023, 10:04 PM UTC

dom96 wrote: post #32

satvikpendem wrote: post #26

PSA: If you're making a browser extension, please support Firefox as well, not just Chrome. Firefox makes it easy since they support the `chrome` namespace for functions [0]. You can also use React/Next.js or another frontend library too if you prefer. I had created an extension a while ago out of pure HTML, CSS, and TypeScript but I found that was quite annoying to add more complex features with lots of state. I swi…

The problem with supporting Firefox is that it doesn't yet support manifest v3. I know this support is coming, but seeing as Chrome right now disallows new extensions that don't use v3 it feels pretty delayed. It's also unclear how to test manifest v3 Firefox extensions before the support is officially out there (though maybe there isn't even beta support yet?)

It is coming on Tuesday with the release of Firefox 109.

Re: For your next side project, make a browser extension

#57

Post by moneywoes » Sun, Jan 15, 2023, 10:05 PM UTC

tommywg7 wrote: post #27

Made one recently to put Google's trending page in an extension! Loved how quick you can build and release something usable. Check it out https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/trending-google-se...

Can you elaborate on the scheduling updates part? Does it just make a api request every x hours to google's api?

Re: For your next side project, make a browser extension

#58

Post by tech234a » Sun, Jan 15, 2023, 10:07 PM UTC

alphabet9000 wrote: post #33

satvikpendem wrote: post #26

PSA: If you're making a browser extension, please support Firefox as well, not just Chrome. Firefox makes it easy since they support the `chrome` namespace for functions [0]. You can also use React/Next.js or another frontend library too if you prefer. I had created an extension a while ago out of pure HTML, CSS, and TypeScript but I found that was quite annoying to add more complex features with lots of state. I swi…

firefox/mozilla doesn't really make it easy (compared to chrome) mozilla now requires "add-on signing" [0]; extensions now have to be "signed" (By mozilla) before you can permanently side-load your own private extension onto regular firefox. they also require you to use 2FA [1] when setting up a firefox.com account (which is required in order for you to upload extensions so they can be signed). at least with chrome y…

The signing requirement only applies to the stable and beta versions of Firefox. It can be disabled in about:config in Firefox Developer Edition (which is basically the same as beta), as well as in Nightly, ESR, and Unbranded builds [1].

[1]: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Add-ons/Extension_Signing

Re: For your next side project, make a browser extension

#59

Post by HenrikB » Sun, Jan 15, 2023, 10:08 PM UTC

It's been many months since I tried, but I think you have to redo thateach time you restart Firefox, i.e. contrary to Chrome, you cannot make it persistent.

Re: For your next side project, make a browser extension

#60

Post by Benjammer » Sun, Jan 15, 2023, 10:09 PM UTC

If you don't want to actually write the code and deal with the browser webstores, you can also use an "extension builder" tool like https://www.pixiebrix.com/ to call APIs, move data around, and build simple UIs.